How is Ocala Fl?? (Deltona, Inverness: second mortgage, homes, theatre)

[lulu]

So, true...it happens here, too. Also, employer's don't have to pay for their health insurance and older workers have tons of life work experience - it's a win, win situation for the senior and the business.

[KristiLynn]

The first thing that I would do is get a sink hole list from the county and find out where the sink holes are. Next is to find out whether the area you are looking at is close enough to the switch to get DSL. Cable does not come out to our area in Rainbow Lakes so we have to pay $50 a month for satellite service for DSL. That is on top of satellite TV service. We also have well water which is of varying quality.
Marion County has the largest number of military veterans per capita of any county in the country. The VA Clinic in Ocala is pretty good and the VA hospital is in Gainsville, about 50 miles away.
Rainbow Lakes has a lot of low cost housing. We bought a two bedroom 1200 sq ft on a 1/4 acre with a shed for $80,000 two years ago. If you like a place with no neighbors - our nearest is half a mile - look into the back part of Rainbow Lakes. We are 20 miles from Ocala - up in the hills. We are in the unincorporated area of Marion County.

[jurban]

Ocala is a VERY nice place! All the usual shopping, a very nice community college, close enough to major metropolitan areas (Tampa, Orlando, Gainesville) without the amount of traffic. Area has grown alot in the last 10 years, and looks like it will continue to, but the amenities seem to be keeping up. I'd say go for it!

[goldieloucks]

Jammie, So sorry I didn't get back to you sooner! I'd forgotten this message area, then had to go back to Omaha a time or two, then got a new computer so I had a heck of a time signing back in. Silver Spring Shores isn't really at the Silver Springs park per say. It's a subdivsion of Ocala and about 12 miles Notheeast of Ocala I believe.
I couldn't wait to move here either, but now I'm quite sorry I did. The health profession runs about 15 years behind here, the people seem rather rude and this Silver Springs/Leesburg area in the housing areas at least seem dirty and unkempt. Sorry to burst your bubble, just letting you know the truth as seen in my opinion!

[Jammie]

Goldie, thank you so much for the info. I've actually heard that comment before that the two towns seem dirty and not very up to date. Right now I believe that the area is very wet and very storm damaged, especially Lady Lake just north of Leesburg and Fruitland Park. It was a horrible early morning for those families there.

I guess I was thinking that I was well informed about Fla. since I do a lot of reading and a lot of posting asking questions, but I was in shock to learn that powerful tornadoes are present there in the winter. My understanding had been that the tornadoes were generally only Cat 1 and they normally were spawned by a cane. I live just at the northern end of tornado alley in the midwest and those things aren't fun and the victims from last night have my deepest sympathy.

[eaglewing8]

we are thinking of moving down to FL. from IL. we have 2 children 10 and 17. We are looking at Marion County or Citrus County. We come from a small town about 23,000. Of those 2 counties which one would be better for kids? And what about the schools. I'm more concern with the younger one.

[noahj1102]

read the post by Hartwick on the previous page. i have lived in Ocala nearly 20 years and there is no way i would recommend anyone to move here. the overcrowding is beyond belief.

small town feel? forget it! trying to buy a decent house and make a decent living? forget it! just go down 200 and look at the traffic and you tell me that this city isn't a disaster with the growth. try driving down baseline at 4 pm and you tell me we don't have serious growth issues. it takes 35 minutes to pick my son up from day school off baseline road when we live 4 miles from it.

economy? real estate? lol! if you can find a "decent" home for under $200k, good luck. don't even mention something new. better realize you are looking at $250k+. try buying that when you can only make $30k here if you can find a decent job. i just graduated nursing school and my starting salary is $18.50. don't believe me? go to starbanner.com (the local paper) and look through the classifieds. try supporting a family of 2 kids and looking to move into a new home with that. a new housing development 2 miles from me have home starting at $225.....and thats a plain model! i could go on and on.

crime? heh, read what Hartwick wrote.

trust me, i've lived here for 20 years. it is only going to get worse. go to starbanner.com and read some of the recent articles related to the growth problems and driving and road issues.

check out this link Moderator cut: linking to competitors sites is not allowed it's from 2005 and i would guess it has gotten worse and not better

[angel1234]

Hi this is angel123 and I live in vero beach, fla. and want to move to ocala. I am a pet sitter. Is there business up that way. I will also,board dogs and cats. Please give info if anyone can. thanks, angel123

[A. Penny]

Originally Posted by Jammie

Hi Holli, it's so nice to see that you're interested in Ocala, too. We are also planning on checking out the Ocala/Silver Springs area in a few months. In a bit over a year my hubby will be semi-retiring and that area will hopefully be just what we're looking for. When you get a chance, check back through the old threads on here. Whenever Ocala is mentioned, the feedback is always positive. It's supposed to be green and hilly and beautiful. The people are supposed to be friendly and helpful. There is the Ocala National Forest nearby. The area that's of special interest to us is either connected to Ocala or just very nearby. Silver Spring Shores or Silver Springs. (Not sure which is the town or amusement park. I thought I had it figured out, but not for sure) We're middle aged and they have some very good entertainment there. My fave group, the Grass Roots will be there in Oct. (from the 60s) The same park offers rides on Glass bottomed boats and the water is supposed to be clear spring water and you can see all the animals in the water. My sis in law went for that ride many years ago and said it's neat. I've been checking job listings and it appears that there are jobs there. The real estate is high compared to what we're used to (upper midwest), but is cheaper then most parts of Fla. We're thinking about renting an apartment so I did an apartment search and they're actually quite reasonable. It doesn't appear that Fla. actually has much tornado weather. They don't have the Cat 4 or Cat5 that we have in the midwest. We're from SD and live in tornado alley just like you do so our chances of those are worse then Florida's. They get tornadoes during hurricanes. We have family in central Fla, but they live south of Ocala. They get wind and rain from hurricanes and have damage, but not like the coast. Not sure if Ocala is in the same situation, but they're straight south of Ocala so my guess it's comparable. Please post and keep me informed about how you like it there.

Silver Springs Shores is a housing development....Silver Springs is a town and the name of the theme park...hope this helps

[A. Penny]

Originally Posted by noahj1102

read the post by Hartwick on the previous page. i have lived in Ocala nearly 20 years and there is no way i would recommend anyone to move here. the overcrowding is beyond belief.

small town feel? forget it! trying to buy a decent house and make a decent living? forget it! just go down 200 and look at the traffic and you tell me that this city isn't a disaster with the growth. try driving down baseline at 4 pm and you tell me we don't have serious growth issues. it takes 35 minutes to pick my son up from day school off baseline road when we live 4 miles from it.

economy? real estate? lol! if you can find a "decent" home for under $200k, good luck. don't even mention something new. better realize you are looking at $250k+. try buying that when you can only make $30k here if you can find a decent job. i just graduated nursing school and my starting salary is $18.50. don't believe me? go to starbanner.com (the local paper) and look through the classifieds. try supporting a family of 2 kids and looking to move into a new home with that. a new housing development 2 miles from me have home starting at $225.....and thats a plain model! i could go on and on.

crime? heh, read what Hartwick wrote.

trust me, i've lived here for 20 years. it is only going to get worse. go to starbanner.com and read some of the recent articles related to the growth problems and driving and road issues.

check out this link Moderator cut: linking to competitors sites is not allowed it's from 2005 and i would guess it has gotten worse and not better

I know of new construction 3/2/1 houses in Ocala for $145k. I understand how large and "overdeveloped" Marion county must feel if you have been here for 20 years, but by comparison it is still small and hometown like. In 2005 there were 145,693 housing units in Marion County. Marion County is 1660 square miles. Yes, there are more houses in 2007, but it is far from overdeveloped.